On a full-year basis, total smartphone shipment volumes reached 491.4 million units in 2011, up a strong 61.3% from the 304.7 million units in 2010. This was higher than IDC’s full year estimate of 54.7% for the class, but still below 2010’s year-over-year growth of 75.7%. Although this marks a slowdown from 2010, IDC still fully expects continued double-digit growth for the foreseeable future.

Smartphones continued to be one of the hottest consumer electronics products in the market, and was helped along by the launch of key devices. “By the end of the quarter, one out of every three mobiles phones shipped worldwide was a smartphone,” said Ramon Llamas, elder research analyst with IDC’s Mobile Phone Technology and Trends team. “The launch of Apple’s iPhone 4S played a key role in smartphone growth to capture pent-up demand, and smartphone launches from other vendors also provided a broad choice to meet varying preferences and budgets.”

The variety of offerings have become more nuanced as smartphone makers effort to grow their respective user bases in emerging and developed markets alike.

“So-called ‘hero’ devices, such as Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus and Apple’s iPhone 4S, garner the bulk of the aid heaped on the device type,” said Kevin Restivo, senior research psychoanalyst with IDC’s Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker program. “But a growing number of sub-$250 device offerings, based on the Android operating system, have allowed Google’s computer hardware partners to grow smartphone volumes and expand the marketplace concurrently.”

Vendor Highlights

Apple climbed back into the market leadership position with the launch of its iPhone 4S worldwide, and in the process it reached a new shipment volume record for itself and for the entire manufacture for a single quarter. Although the iPhone 4S disappointed some detractors by lacking 4G LTE connectivity or a different size screen, demand was high for the device. In addition, the combination of holiday seasonality, the delay in product launch from 3Q to 4Q, and the addition of multiple mobile operators helped drive volumes higher.

Samsung marked a series of milestones for the quarter: breaking the 30 million units mark for the first metre, posting the largest year-over-year increase among the top vendors, and finishing 2011 as the overall smartphone market leader. Its series of Galaxy smartphones continued to expand, with attention to both the high-end (Galaxy S II, Galaxy Nexus) and mass market (Galaxy Ace, Galaxy Y), while the troupe updated its Omnia and Focus smartphones with Windows Phone Mango.

Nokia posted the largest year-over-class decrease among the top vendors, but its smartphone strategy took another step forward with the release of its first Windows Phone smartphones, the Lumia 710 and the Lumia 800. Company CEO Steve Elop claims that the company shipped ‘well over a million units’ in its debut quarter, and is using early feedback to adjust its marketing and sales strategy. At the same time, demand for its Symbian-powered smartphones appears to have waned, and smaller volumes are expected in 2012.

Research In Motion finished the quarter with a mixed dish of results. Its new BB OS 7-powered BlackBerry smartphones reached additional markets, and total volumes for the quarter staved off a fourth consecutive quarter of sequential decline. Still, overshadowing these results was the global network outage in October, followed by announcements that its first BB 10-powered smartphones volition not arrive to marketplace until late 2012. Such a delay gives the competition opportunity to attack RIM’s strongholds. With new Chairperson and CEO Heins in place as of January, RIM assures that change is coming both internally and externally.

HTC maintained a strong pace of device releases during the quarter, with the launch of the Windows Phone-powered Titan and Radar models, the Beats-influenced Rezound, and the LTE-enabled Vivid in addition to multiple other Android-powered smartphones. As has been HTC’s approach all year long, these device launches kept the company’s product portfolio well attuned to both operator and end-user tastes. Despite the many high-profile launches during the quarter, however, the Taiwanese vendor still shipped lower volumes compared to the previous quarter.

“As LTE networks are deployed alongside 3G networks, the ability for multimode 3G/LTE mobile devices to connect to different network technologies will be an important part of providing the best possible mobile voice and data experience to consumers,” said Cristiano Amon, senior frailty president of product management, Qualcomm. “Qualcomm is committed to the successful deployment of LTE networks worldwide in conjunction with 3G networks, and the milestone we’ve achieved with Ericsson is another step towards making VoLTE engineering a commercial reality.”

SRVCC is the next logical step in the 4G LTE voice roadmap following the commercial launch of circuit-switched fallback technology (CSFB) on smartphones in 2011. CSFB allows a I wireless in the handset to dynamically switch from an LTE data connection to a 3G connection when the user needs to make or receive a call. Similarly, SRVCC support enables a single radio in the handset to execute a seamless handover of a voice call from an LTE network to a 3G network. Furthermore, SRVCC and CSFB allow both LTE and 3G network connections to be supported on a single chip, eliminating the need for smartphones to use separate LTE and 3G radios and modems. This allows OEMs to designing handsets with lower power consumption and component costs and a smaller size. Given that 3G networks will continue to be deployed in junction with LTE networks for quite some time, SRVCC and CSFB ar essential to provide a seamless voice experience to customers using LTE multimode handsets once VoLTE is commercially deployed. Qualcomm is committed to ensuring the best voice performance to users in LTE networks through industry-leading CSFB and SRVCC technologies.
]]> http://your-mobile-phone.net/qualcomm_and_ericsson_successfully_complete_voice_call_handover_from_lte_to_wcdma_using_srvcc_call_continuity.html/feed 0 http://your-mobile-phone.net/android_4_0_tablets_coming_for_under_250.html http://your-mobile-phone.net/android_4_0_tablets_coming_for_under_250.html#comments Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:40:00 +0000 admin http://your-mobile-phone.net/?p=41981 “Inexpensive tablets with blind sizes up to 10 inches and Google’s new Android 4.0 OS will soon become available at prices ranging from US$100 to $250. The prices are a breakthrough for users look to get Android 4.0, computer code-named Ice Cream Sandwich, on tablets, which have so far been equipped with Android 2.x or Android 3.x.”

Units shipped during the quarter were 9 million, a XX decrease class-on-year and a 5% decrease compared to last quarter. The year-on-year and sequential declines reflect a significantly lower berth number of feature phones shipped, partially set-back by an increase in smartphone shipments. Sony Ericsson has shipped 28 million Xperia smartphones to date.

Average selling price (ASP) for the quarter was Euro 143, up 5% year-on-year but down 14% sequentially. The year-on-year increase is due to the shift to smartphones and geographic mix. The sequential decrease in ASP is attributed to geographic and product mix, including declining prices of products launched earlier in the year, and the absence of new products introduced in the fourth quarter.

Sales for the quarter were approximately Euro 1.3 billion, down 16% year-on-year and 19% quarter over quarter. The year-on-year decline reflects the decrease of lineament phone sales which was only partially offset by an increase in smartphone sales. The sequential decline is due to geographic and product mix, resulting in lower sales of both smartphones and feature phones. Fourth quarter sales were negatively impacted by macroeconomic challenges in advanced economies contributing to weaker holiday sales, and certain component shortages from the flooding in Thailand in late October and early November 2011. Xperia smartphones accounted for approximately 80% of total sales in the fourth quarter.

The gross margin for the quarter was 24%, a decrease of 6 percentage points year-on-year and 3 percentage points from the previous quarter. The year-on-year and sequential decreases are attributed to merchandise and geographic mix. Fourth quarter gross margin was also adversely affected by intense smartphone price competition which more than offset the benefit of royalty and other items.

Loss before taxes, excluding restructuring charges, was Euro 154 million for the quarter, compared to income of Euro 39 million for the same quarter last class and of Euro 31 million in the previous quarter. The year-on-year and sequential declines are due to lower gross margin and increased operational expenses, including higher development and selling expenses.

In December 2011, Sony Ericsson launched a restructuring program including global workforce reductions to reduce costs and drive competitiveness. Restructuring charges for the quarter are Euro 93 million and the program is estimated to be completed by the remnant of 2012.

The quarter ended in a net loss of Euro 207 million, compared to a net income of Euro 8 million in the same quarter of the previous year, and essentially a gaolbreak even result in the previous quarter.

Cash flow from operating activities during the quarter was negative Euro 26 million. External borrowings were Euro 19 meg during the quarter. Total borrowings were Euro 742 million at the end of the quarter. Total cash balances at December 31, 2011 were Euro 442 million.

Sony Ericsson estimates that its contribution of the global Android-based smartphone market was 10% in volume and 7% in value during the quarter and 10% in volume and 10% in value for the full year.

Sony Ericsson estimates that the global smartphone market for the full year 2011 increased by 60% in volume to 463 meg units. Sony Ericsson estimates strong growth in the smartphone market in 2012.

In October 2011 Sony Corporation (”Sony”) and Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (”Ericsson”) announced that Sony will acquire Ericsson’s stake in Sony Ericsson and that Sony Ericsson will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony. The transaction is expected to close in late January to February, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.

“We are pleased to have built upon our longstanding relationship with LG to reach a mutually beneficial agreement. Together with our ten previous agreements with Android and Chrome OS device manufacturers, including HTC, Samsung and Acer, this agreement with LG agency that more than seventy percent of all Android smartphones sold in the U.S. are now receiving coverage under Microsoft’s patent of invention portfolio,” said Horacio Gutierrez, corporate vice president and deputy general counselling, Intellectual Property Group at Microsoft. “We are proud of the continued success of our program in resolving the IP issues surrounding Android and Chrome OS.”

The collaboration, which also covers tablets, will combine Intel’s leadership in Si processor technology and computing innovation with Motorola’s mobile device design expertise to deliver products that wealthy person the high gear performance, long battery liveliness and convenience necessary for increasingly mobile lifestyles.

“When great silicon and software technology meets great mobile and design innovation, amazing things can happen,” said Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini. “Our long-term relationship with Motorola Mobility will help accelerate Intel® architecture into new mobile market segments. We expect the combination of our companies to jailbreak new ground and bring the very best of computing capabilities to smartphones and tablets, which in turn will help to create powerful new experiences that connect and enrich citizenry’s lives wherever they may be.”

“We are delighted to be partnering with Intel to deliver smartphones and tablets based on Intel’s Atom processor to consumers and businesses,” said Sanjay Jha, Chairman and CEO, Motorola Mobility. “Though there are 5 billion mobile subscribers in the worldly concern, less than 800 million are using a smartphone today. With Android as the leading smartphone OS globally and advancements in computing technology we see tremendous opportunity for the converged devices marketplace.”

Smartphones and tablets are quickly becoming an indispensible part of people’s daily lives — making them constant companions. The strategic human relationship between Intel and Motorola Mobility will expand opportunity for continued innovation in these areas as they work closely to leveraging Intel’s low power organization-on-chip (SoC) roadmap for Motorola Mobility’s converged mobile device portfolio. The companies will collaborate across hardware, software system and services to deliver complete solutions and disruptive new user experiences that offer long assault and battery life, increased computing performance, advanced imaging and video capabilities, and seamless wireless connections.

Recession Likely to Hit Smart Device Sales

There is a strong possibility that recessionary conditions will have an adverse impact on smartphone and tablet gross sales, particularly in the case of unsubsidised devices. Juniper’s view is that, given the extent to which smartphones have already become a near “must-have” device, the impingement here will be less significant than for tablets, where it whitethorn wellspring reduce the extent to which these devices penetrate the wider market, notably across Western Europe. The effect volition be most acutely felt in the premium tablet sector, where net device sales could plateau or even decline.

Conversely, the reduction in average purchasing power could conceivably benefit players such as Amazon and ARCHOS, inasmuch as cash-strapped consumers may opt for the lower berth-priced Kindle Fire or an ARNOVA-branded device rather than the iPad.

Top Ten Wireless Predictions for 2012

Please see below for a full list of the top ten wireless predictions, with each prediction explained in more detail in the complete whitepaper available to download from here on the Juniper Research website.

1. Recession Likely to Hit Smart Device Sales

2. London 2012 to Boost Mobile Advertising and M-Gambling, and Kickstart NFC

3. Mobile Coupons to Drive mCommerce Market Despite Economic Stagnation

4. 2012 – The Year of the Quad-Core Processor

5. Windows 8 OS to Fuel Nokia Revival & Disrupt Tablet Market

6. 2012 to see High Profile Malware Attacks on Mobile Devices

7. MEMs Accelerometers and Gyroscopes to Transform Sensor Market for Mobile Devices

8. Social Gaming to Become a Major Mobile Play with Introduction of Synchronous Gaming

9. Online, Mobile and Physical Will Begin to Fuse into One Retail Market

10. Cloud Mobility to Drive Collaborative Communications
]]> http://your-mobile-phone.net/top_ten_wireless_predictions_for_2012.html/feed 0 http://your-mobile-phone.net/sprint_deploys_first_multi_mode_base_station.html http://your-mobile-phone.net/sprint_deploys_first_multi_mode_base_station.html#comments Wed, 07 Dec 2011 19:38:00 +0000 admin http://your-mobile-phone.net/?p=38071 Sprint (NYSE: S) today announced an important milestone in the national roll-out of Network Vision: a complete deployment of the first multi-mode base station in Branchburg, N.J. The deployment features a series of firsts, including

* radiating multiple spectrum bands (1.9GHz and 800MHz) from a single base station,

* powering both 1x and EVDO.

The new base station is fully integrated with the existing network and initial tests appearance performance improvements are in line with expectations.

Announced in Dec. 2010, Network Vision is a design to consolidate multiple network technologies into single seamless network, resulting in significant performance improvements for our customers. Through spectrum efficiencies associated with Network Vision, Sprint intends to repurpose some of its 800MHz spectrum for Sprint 3G service, thereby enhancing coverage, particularly the in-construction experience for customers. Augmenting its 1.9GHz footprint with 800MHz, Sprint expects its CDMA reporting density will increase throughout the country. More denseness generally equates to fewer dropped calls and a more seamless network experience for customers.

“Customers in Branchburg who are served off of this first cell web site may already begin to notice improvements,” said Bob Azzi, SVP Network for Sprint. “Months of planning and execution with our partners are resulting in performance improvements that more than meet our expectations. We’re excited to begin sharing these improvements with our customers.”

Customer Benefits

Sprint customers volition soon see better signal strength for improved wireless access in more places. The Network Vision program is expected to result in faster, more consistent data speeds, allowing greater access to download the latest free strain of the twenty-four hours from the Google Music Store on an HTC EVO™ 3D. Customers can expect to experience fewer dropped calls so they can freely manage their holiday plans and shopping virtually anywhere they are. Network Vision ultimately means authority for wireless users that Sprint is handling increased data demands while ensuring an exceptional wireless customer experience.

Financial Benefit

Network Vision also provides significant economic benefit to Sprint. Network Vision is expected to cost an incremental $4 billion to $5 billion and deliver $10 billion to $11 billion in net economic economic value to the company between 2011 and 2017, with a projected NPV of approximately $6 billion. The primary components of economic value come from reduced roaming, cell-site reduction, the elimination of dual networks, backhaul efficiencies, reduced churn, more efficient use of capital and energy cost savings.

Sprint previously announced that Network Vision is a three year program with market deployments beginning in 2012 and ending in early 2014. Sprint expects to shuffle additional announcements about market deployments early next year.